Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (19-0, 10 KOs) scored his second consecutive stoppage victory on Friday night, blasting through 53-bout veteran William Johnson at W.C. Handy Pavilion in Memphis Tennessee. Webster put on arguably the best performance of his professional career in the five-round destruction, which ended via TKO.
“Going into the fight, I didn’t know a whole lot about my opponent,” Webster admitted. “He was a tough guy, a real hard-nosed guy. I would put him in the category of a Darnell Boone (whom Webster defeated via decision in 2013), a guy with a really hard shell. I took care of business with a lot of rapid-fire combinations and kept the jab on him. During this training camp, we focused on a lot of power, so all of my combinations had bad intentions behind them to where he was cut at several different places on his face. As I was hitting him with all of these combinations, I kept looking at the referee to stop the fight. At the end of the day, the guy didn’t do anything wrong to me, so I didn’t want to put any unnecessary harm upon him. I would say it was my best performance as far as punch output, the combinations I put together, and just how poised and focused I stayed inside the ring.”
Now an owner of double-digit knockouts and performing at the highest level of his career, Webster is just outside the door of an opportunity to show the world exactly what kind of fighter he truly is. Arriving to that kind of stage is where the Glassboro native has strived to reach since he first laced up a pair of boxing gloves, and he intends to take full advantage.
“This is such a huge excitement for me,” he said of entering the next chapter of his professional career. “It’s always exciting when you are able to put your craft into action. After all of the pull-outs and date changes that I’ve dealt with throughout my career, I just want to remain busy because I feel like we are truly turning the corner and finding my comfort level inside the ring. Up until this point, I didn’t really feel like I was fighting yet. I was just working off my natural ability. The things I saw in there this fight, along with the growth I’ve seen in myself, I’m ready to show the world what they’ve been missing.”
As far as bout number 20 is concerned, a tentative date is already on the table.
“Right now, we are looking at July 17th in Las Vegas, which is exciting in itself. My entire career, I couldn’t wait to get to Vegas,” Webster stated. “We don’t know the opponent yet, but we’re looking at being a main event or co-feature. We’ll be fighting someone more relevant, which is also exciting. Hopefully, the fight will be for a regional title or more recognized belt.
“Once we get this recognized belt and get world-ranked, I want a world title shot against Miguel Cotto.”
Something that has always followed Webster throughout his career is an incredibly loyal fan base, something of which the undefeated super middleweight has never taken for granted.
“I appreciate everybody’s support, all of those people who have been standing behind me this whole time,” Webster remarked. “The ride is only going to get better from here on out, too. I’m already right back in the gym, and we’re looking to close out the year in fantastic fashion.”
